he had real concerns that these pentagon cuts will be devastating. take a listen. >> he says if we do this it will be shooting the defense department in the head and we'll have to send out 800,000 layoff notices the beginning of the year. he is worried to death that if we don't fix sequestration we are going to destroy the finest military in the world at the time we need it the most. >> the bottom line tonight is both sides believe that there is a deal on the tax side of the fiscal cliff avoiding that, that you extend tax cuts basically for anyone making 450,000 or below. but the sequestration side of this in terms of the massive automatic spending cuts, they are very much up for grabs right now. and that is the big reason why we do not have a deal that is signed, sealed and delivered, trace. >> trace: ed henry live for us at the white house. of course, tomorrow is a federal holiday. analysts say that gives congress a little extra time to undo the damage from going off othe cliff. mike emanuel is on capitol hill. mike, what are we expecting tonight?